This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art. This section also provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
As is well known in the art, alarm systems are readily available for use by handicapped users, such as those that are blind, deaf, or otherwise impaired, to alert the handicapped user of some predetermined condition, such as a doorbell, telephone, or alarm being activated. The alarm system can then output audible, visual, and/or tactile stimuli to the handicapped user.
These conventional alarm systems typically employ a sensor sensitive to the predetermined condition that transmits a signal, either via wired or wireless communication means, to a fixed reporting station. This fixed reporting station can be permanently mounted in a home or business or temporarily mounted on a tabletop, and configured to receive the signals from the sensors and output a corresponding alert, such as a flashing strobe, horn, or vibration, to the user.
While the aforementioned alarm systems are useful for their intended purpose, it should be appreciated that they are limited to a certain location by their physical constraints. Moreover, because of their reduced portability, it is often necessary to employ multiple reporting stations throughout a building to permit a moving user to be confident that they will be within range to hear, see, or otherwise be stimulated in response to an alert. This often requires the purchase, setup, and maintenance of reporting stations in each of the main rooms of a home or business, thereby increasing initial costs and ongoing maintenance costs and likewise adding to the overall complexity of the system.
Furthermore, it should be appreciated that in some applications it may be desirable to ensure that communication is positively maintained between the sensor unit and the reporting station. In the case where such communication between the sensor unit and the reporting station is intermittent or otherwise interrupted, alarm signals may be similarly interrupted and indication of the corresponding alert prevented.
Therefore, in accordance with the principles of the present teachings, a comprehensive alerting system is provided for alerting a user. The alerting system includes a transmitter monitoring a predetermined condition (i.e. sound, telephone, door/window access, fire, carbon monoxide, emergency weather alerts, etc.) and outputting an alarm signal in response to detection of the predetermined condition. The transmitter further outputs a supervisory signal indicative of operation of the transmitter (i.e. low battery condition, out of range, etc.) and/or a positive communication link there between. The alerting system further includes an alerting device receiving the alarm signal and the supervisory signal from the transmitter and detecting cessation of the supervisory signal device and outputting a first alert signal to the user indicative of the cessation of the supervisory signal. The alerting device further detecting presence of the alarm signal and outputting a second alert signal to the user indicative of presence of the predetermined condition.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.